VOORHEES, N.J. — The Flyers played as sound a defensive game as a defensively culpable team could play against the Devils. They attributed their super stinginess Saturday, which equated to holding New Jersey to 14 shots on goal in a 1-0 victory, to a renewed sense of team togetherness generated in part by their goaltender attacking a Washington Capitals goalie who wanted no parts of a real fight.

All part of the game, as the old hockey saying goes.

“I think it was out of frustration,” Vinny Lecavalier said about a 7-0 home loss to the Capitals Friday night that would feature enough fights/goalie beatdowns that would eventually land Steve Downie in the hospital with a concussion, knock Lecavalier out for a game with what he would only admit to being a banged-up face, and leave Ray Emery as a controversial figure on the same day he was visiting the White House.

“You can definitely build from that,” Lecavalier said. “Keep bonding. You see your teammates go at it and you play a great game the next game. Hopefully, it’ll snowball and start a streak here. Win two or three and get going.

“We had a frustrating night but hopefully we can turn it around.”

Of course, the past two seasons in Philadelphia, turnovers have also been part of their game. Too much of it, as they were Friday night in the Capital punishment at Wells Fargo Center. It’s probably why Craig Berube wanted to remind everyone in his oh-so together locker room that there’s more to winning than just bonding borne of violence.

“Anytime a team sticks together and does things like that and cares about each other, good things happen after that,” Berube said Monday. “But we definitely have to play more consistent, better hockey to get on a roll. So that’s part of it. You love it when the team sticks together, and these guys do, but we still have to go on the ice and play and do things right.”

Yes, the Flyers looked like a different team in Newark than they had the night before in Philadelphia. But despite new faces in the locker room and the head coaching chair, they largely look like the same team they were a season ago...

They still can’t score.

They have played 13 games. They have scored 21 goals, or 1.6 per game. Yet the focus has to stay on defense, which they maintain will eventually lead to consistent scoring chances. It’s a tired mantra, but frankly, how else can they console themselves?

Continued psychological beatings can be more damaging than the occasional beatdown of an opposing goaltender.

“It kind of just happens,” Lecavalier said. “It’s part of the game. We needed a spark. ... There was a lot of frustration. We were down 6-nothing at that time. Frustration comes with it. So it just happened.”

Of course, the rules (and lack thereof) allow for such things to happen.

Ever the fair competitor, Emery suggested Caps goalie Braden Holtby cover up, then commenced to doing what he’d gone to the trouble of skating all the way down the ice to do. He would be fairly penalized for that with a game misconduct, 5-minute fighting major and 2-minute instigation minor. Just like the rule book says he should have gotten under rule “46.2: Aggressor.”

It’s just that the NHL and its commitment to increasing revenue knows that what is so popular with its hard-core fans (goalie-on-goalie beatdowns absolutely included) isn’t always the prettiest thing on TV.

So expect Bettman to push for a rule change to the current goofy guideline, which says a player who only gets deemed as an instigator for a third time in a season can be suspended. He gets two games for that, four games if he commits a fourth act of instigation.

For that reason, Emery is eligible to stay hot in the Flyers crease when the club travels to Carolina for a game Tuesday night against the Hurricanes. But as per team/coach policy, Berube wouldn’t name a starting goalie Monday.

No matter what guy they put in net, however, that warrior is going to get defended. Or so they say.

“It’s tough to play defense and it’s not a lot of fun, to be honest,” Berube said. “There are certainly players that thrive off of it and are real good at it and there are other players where that’s not their game so much. But everyone needs to play the same without the puck.”

Especially when scoring doesn’t seem to be anyone’s game at the time.

NOTES: Lecavalier says he will wear a half-shield with an attached protective pad that’s “a little annoying” for the game in Carolina to protect his battered face. “I’m fine,” he said. “I’m ready to go.” ... One Berube response to the ugly loss to the Capitals was Luke Schenn getting a healthy scratch. “It’s a little rare,” Schenn said. “At the same time I’m really not losing any confidence because of it. I was taught to worry about the things I can control and I don’t choose who’s playing. So I’ll continue to work hard and make the most of it and work hard to get back.”